Anyone who keeps a boat along the Pembrokeshire coast already knows the drill. Saltwater, UV and general wear don’t take long to start causing problems, and with thousands of boats spread between Milford Haven, Tenby and the smaller harbours around the county, there’s always something that needs sorting. But most of these jobs don’t actually need a boatyard.
The things that eat into your season tend to be small: a hatch that won’t slide, a winch grinding when you sheet in, a tiller with too much play in it. You can fix all of these in a weekend with basic tools and the right materials, so here are five of the most common repairs and how to get them done at home.
Stiff or Cracked Hatch Slides
Companionway hatches on older boats love to jam. Especially after a winter sitting idle. The plastic runners that guide the hatch panel along its track go brittle from UV exposure over time, and once they crack or warp, you’ll end up fighting the thing every time you need to get below.
Pull off the old slide strips and use them as your template. Cut new ones from a sheet of acetal copolymer (6mm thick will work for most hatch channels), then file the edges until they’re smooth enough to glide without snagging. This stuff won’t absorb water and it holds its shape through even the worst Pembrokeshire weather, so you won’t be doing the same job again next spring.
Worn Winch Bushings
Manual winches on dinghies and smaller yachts depend on internal bushings to keep the drum turning freely. Salt and grit will eventually work their way inside, and when the original nylon or brass bushings wear down, you’ll hear it before you see it. That grinding noise when you sheet in, or a drum that wobbles on its spindle, tells you it’s time.
Strip the winch down, pull the old bushings out and measure the inner diameter, outer diameter and length. A lot of boat owners now cut replacements from acetal sheets, which is an engineering plastic that has very low friction and handles moisture well. You can shape it with a hole saw and drill press, sand it down until you get a snug fit, and the finished bushing will often last longer than the factory original did.
Tiller Guide Inserts
Where the tiller arm connects to the rudder stock, there’s usually a plastic bushing or guide insert sitting between them. These parts take constant rotational stress while getting hit with spray, which means they wear out quicker than most people expect. Once that insert goes, the tiller gets sloppy, and imprecise steering is the last thing you want when you’re threading through Jack Sound on the tide.
Measure the worn insert carefully, cut or turn a replacement from acetal rod or sheet, and press it into position. Some owners like to add a thin smear of marine grease when they reassemble, but the material is self-lubricating enough to perform well without it.
Leaky Deck Fittings
Cleats, fairleads and stanchion bases all bolt through the deck, and those bolt holes are notorious leak points. Sealant breaks down over time. Once water starts getting below, you’ll be dealing with damp lockers or soft plywood before long, and that’s a much bigger problem than the one you started with.
Unbolt the fitting first, then scrape off every bit of old sealant and check the deck core for moisture damage. Apply fresh marine-grade polyurethane sealant (Sikaflex is a solid choice here) and rebolt everything. If the original backing plates have compressed or show signs of corrosion, replace them with marine-grade stainless steel or G10 fibreglass plates that will spread the load properly. Each fitting will take a couple of hours, but doing this job properly now will save you from far worse repairs later on.
Worn Toggle Spacers in Standing Rigging
At the point where your rigging meets the chainplates, toggle pins and their bushings are under constant movement. The small plastic or bronze spacers in this area wear thin over time, and once they’re gone, you get metal rubbing on metal. That’s when fraying starts. Replacing these spacers before they give out completely is cheap compared to dealing with a rig failure at sea.
Cut a piece of engineering-grade plastic to size. Match the pin diameter exactly and make sure there’s no play in the fit, because any looseness will just accelerate the wear cycle all over again.
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